Background
Six people were sentenced to death by firing squad in November 1922.
Who were they, and why were they executed on charges of high treason? Was it a fair conviction, or did they lose their lives in a turbulent atmosphere where polarization and political conflicts were flourishing?
By November 1922, two months had already passed since a devastating calamity for the Greek State. A tragedy that cost lands and caused multiple socio-economic repercussions in interwar Greece. Smyrna had been lost, along with all the Aegean coasts of Asia Minor, where the Greek population had lived uninterrupted for thousands of years. All of this resulted from a failed military campaign between 1919 and 1922, which definitively buried the Great Idea of liberating the Greek populations under Ottoman rule.
The Greco-Turkish War and the following destruction were the responsibility of two different political factions (Venizelists and anti-Venizelists), who, with their mistakes and disputes, turned the whole campaign into a tragedy. Immediately after the catastrophe, a military movement, known as the 11th September 1922 Revolution, took place under the leadership of Colonels Nikolaos Plastiras, Stylianos Gonatas, and Dimitrios Fokas. In the turbulent days that followed, the revolting forces demanded the resignation of King Constantine I in favor of the heir, George II, the resignation of the government of Nikolaos Triantafyllakos, the formation of a government that would have the support of the Allies, and the strengthening of the Thracian Front. With their contribution, George II was declared king, and a government was formed under Prime Minister Sotirios Krokidas, with control resting with the Revolutionary Committee (with pro-Venizelist tendencies), headed by Nikolaos Plastiras, thus halting the intention of the retired major general Theodoros Pangalos to take control into his own hands. International influence was to be assumed by Eleftherios Venizelos.
Social outrage and arrests
The outrage of the people over the tragedy of Smyrna had grown. The flow of thousands of desperate refugees and soldiers created an impression of complete disorganization and insecurity about the future. In this depressing atmosphere, the Revolutionary Committee and the people (Venizelists, royalists, communists, and even some anti-Venizelists) were thirsty for vengeance and demanded severe punishment for those responsible for the national tragedy.
The Revolutionary Government commanded the arrest and imprisonment of politicians and military officials who were considered responsible for the Asia Minor Catastrophe. Dimitrios Gounaris, Nikolaos Stratos, Petros Protopapadakis, Georgios Baltatzis, Nikolaos Theotokis, Georgios Chatzianestis, Michail Goudas, and Xenophon Stratigos, accused of high treason, would be tried by a Special Military Court. The indictment was drafted in the form of a revolutionary manifesto by Georgios Papandreou, who was then an emerging politician of the Venizelist faction.
Initially, there was disagreement over whether the accused should be tried summarily and executed for high treason, as there was a widespread belief that Greece had not been defeated but betrayed. The more hardline faction (Theodoros Pangalos, Alexandros Papanastrasiou, Alexandros Othonaeus) demanded the immediate condemnation of the accused, but this met resistance from the more moderate faction (Nikolaos Plastiras, Stylianos Gonatas, etc.) and the Allies, who insisted on a proper trial. Meanwhile, a large demonstration of 100,000 citizens took place in Syntagma Square in Athens, demanding the immediate execution of those responsible.
The Trial
The moderate faction eventually prevailed, establishing a Special Military Court, with the chairmen of the investigative committee being the major generals Theodoros Pangalos and Alexandros Othonaeus. The trial took place in the meeting hall of the Hellenic Parliament (today’s Old Parliament building). The Press of the time vividly describes the proceedings and the intense atmosphere both inside and outside the courtroom. The charges were severe and embodied the public sense of justice, meaning that those responsible for the catastrophe were seen as traitors and should be punished with the highest penalty. After all, the document read to the accused contained the reason they were remitted to a trial:
"The accused were responsible for the collapse of the front in Asia Minor from 1920 to 1922, for the betrayal of the homeland with the invasion of Turkish troops into the Greek Kingdom, for the surrender of territories and military material to the enemy in violation of international treaties."
The accused were often deprived of their legal rights, as they were kept in isolation until the trial and had no access to legal documents. However, their defense took place in the courtroom as usual. They defended themselves before a judicial panel that had essentially already made the decision to convict them. Among the witnesses for the prosecution were the Supreme Commander Anastasios Papoulas, the diplomatic official Konstantinos Rentis, and the scientist and politician Fokion Negris, while among the defense witnesses were the officer and politician Nikolaos Rizos-Ragavis and the politician Konstantinos Zavitzianos.
Pericles Byzantios, the war painter who accompanied the Greek troups to Asia Minor, was the official drawing artist of the trial and his drawings from the trial were later published in the press.
Verdict and executions
After 2 weeks of ruling, the court convened and issued its decision on November 15. Despite the opposition from Great Britain and several moderate politicians and military personalities, six of the eight accused (Goudas and Stratigos were sentenced to life imprisonment) were sentenced to death by firing squad. This decision sparked reactions from prominent personalities of the time, such as the military officer and politician Ioannis Metaxas, who was then the leader of the Freethinker’s Party. The reactions led to the resignation of Foreign Minister Nikolaos Politis and eventually of the Krokidas government, paving the way for the formation of a government under Gonatas.
Ultimately, the Revolutionary Committee decided on the execution of the six at the area of Goudi. The executions took place on the same day amidst protests from some factions of the political world in Greece, Europe, and the United States. The condemned men, just before the firing squad, bid farewell to their families and were asked if they had any last wishes. No one responded. At 11:27 a.m. on November 15th, 1922, the six convicted men fell dead. The tragedy of the Asia Minor Catastrophe was completed in a dramatic way.
A century later
The Trial and Execution of the Six is a topic of discussion among historians even today. Eleftherios Venizelos' political role is thought to be controversial, with no one knowing clearly whether he was for or against the executions, or if he could have intervened to secure a different outcome. Many of those involved in that case, later considered the execution of the Six to be unjust and revengeful. In 2009, the Supreme Court of Greece reopened the Trial of the Six behind closed doors, and in 2010, they vindicated the accused due to statute of limitations. Whether convicting or acquitting, the Trial of the Six reflects the enduring consequences of political and social conflict that leads to catastrophic decisions and national tragedies.
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